The practice of industrial-organizational psychology is, quite simply, the study of how people work, where people work, and how the workplaces function. Most people will spend about one-third of their lives working in an office, factory or other location, and so a large portion of the day, as well as their productive lives, is dedicated to these pursuits. By studying industrial-organizational psychology, companies can produce more pleasant workplaces for their employees, hire and retain more talented individuals, and minimize sick time and other problems within the corporate environment.

Understand Why People Seek Jobs

One function of industrial-organizational psychology is to study the reasons why people seek the jobs that they do, and what can be done to help make their work environment more stimulating. I/O psychology also seeks to minimize “presenteeism,” which is when employees show up for work and do the minimum required to get through their day. By studying how to motivate employees, I/O psychology allows companies to offer incentives for work, which make their employees not only enjoy their work, but look forward to coming to work each day.

Attract Good Employees

A second important function of industrial-organizational psychology is to attract hard-working, motivated individuals through the hiring process. There is an art to crafting the right help-wanted advertisement, to creating a process that will excite potential employees and make them want to work for you, and to create a workplace that will facilitate and promote retention of these employees. The hard work involved in hiring someone is all for naught if that person quits six months later because the workplace is undesirable.

Create Testing Rubrics

A third important function of industrial-organizational psychology is to create testing rubrics for all functions of the workplace. Whether it is the in-depth psychological and moral testing that employees may take before getting an interview at a retail chain store, or the testing done by factories to see how quickly employees can recognize and decode number chains and other information in a production setting, industrial-organizational psychology is the reasoning behind these tests, and the people employed to create them do so to make sure that all employees are capable of doing the work required in that job setting.